Today, Fondy and I went to the 15th Annual Wellness Show, what is officially described as a consumer show focusing on all aspects of health and vitality. It is also, incidentally, a showcase for weirdoes and their various weirdly obsessions which is the reason why I agreed to tag along. We wound our way through the various booths and display tables pushing everything from apple cider vinegars to zinc supplements. While Fondy was getting a free spinal analysis, my gaze wandered over to the reiki booth where four solemn-looking individuals hovered over a fifth lying, eyes shut, headphones on. The foursome stood stock still, their open palms hovering over their patient. Whatever the hell was going on seemed to require a fair bit of concentration on the part of at least three of them. The fourth, the young Asian girl palming the guy’s forehead, seemed distracted, continually casting glances down the aisle, perhaps in anticipation of the guy who would be taking her shift. Evidently, he was running late. How long was this supposed to take anyway? I never found out as, Fondy’s free spinal analysis completed (turns out the right side of her spine was in the alarming “better come in and see me” red category as opposed to the “you’re perfectly fine and don’t need to spend any money on a chiropractor” green), we moved on. We strolled past a multitude of booths pushing health and vitality boosters – liquid greens, reishi mushrooms, friendly bacteria to help restore that intestinal flora – then another shilling new age crystal nail files. Beside it, a well-built shirtless guy was demonstrating a piece of fitness equipment that, so far as I could tell, was comprised of a platform (for standing on) and a broom handle (for holding behind your back as you swung from side to side). His station wasn’t that busy, but the fitness club with the bosomy blond trainer across from him seemed to be doing alright. Fondy told me she was going to take a stress test and I said “Sure”, then redirected my attention to the novel I had the foresight to bring along. It wasn’t until I had finished my chapter I glanced up and noticed one of the guys manning the “stress test” booth was trying his darndest to convince Fondy to shell out for a copy of Dianetics. For some odd reason, the booth made no mention of Scientology. I can only imagine the placard in question must have fallen down. Anyhoo, Fondy beat a hasty retreat and we moved on, past shiatsu masseuses, all natural nuts displays, and home detoxifying kits. I stopped briefly to check out a couple of exceptionally limber young women demonstrate some yoga moves (I’m a notoriously inflexible individual) before Fondy directed me to the exit. So ended our trip to the Wellness Show.
On the way home, we stopped by Granville Island where we picked up some fruit and a box of chocolates from ChocolaTas, a local chocolatier. We sampled a hazelnut praline 4-spice, a kirsch truffle, an almond nougatine praline, a pretty good dark chocolate ganache, and a deeply disturbing lemon-thyme ganache. Fondy found them all too sweet. All in all, fine but I’m sticking with my boy Themis at Chocoatl.
Time to answer a few questions –
Grapesofwraith: “I was wondering what your opinion is on organic foods and locally grown foods.”
Answer: First off, love the name. I wanted to title a season two episode Grapes of Wraith but was overruled. As for your question – I do prefer to go organic whenever possible.
Anonymous #1 writes: “Is there an episode in Atlantis that you think could be a fan favorite as Window of Opportunity is the SG1?”
Answer: According to GEOS, it’s First Strike.
Lorr54 writes: “I sent 5 dozen handmade dark chocolate truffles to N. John Smith after the convention in March […] I always wondered if they had been received, shared and enjoyed.”
Answer: That was you? I remember them well. Many thanks. They were excellent. Did you make them yourself?
Shawna writes: “Back to Boston Legal….Were you as annoyed as I was to see Monica Potter go?”
Answer: To be honest, I was more annoyed by the fact that there was no explanation for her disappearance.
Bugguy writes: “ I’m planning on coming to Vancouver […]. If you had to pick a hotel to stay at what would it be? My other question is what is the restaurant that was featured in Upgrades and is it any good.”
Answer: I’ve always liked the Hotel Vancouver. Great location and it is also purportedly haunted. What more could you ask for? As for that restaurant in Upgrades, I believe it was Horizons. Is it any good? Well, although I loved the company I was with, I was less than impressed with the food on my one and only visit.
Anonymous #2 writes: “Have you watched Heroes?”
Answer: I saw the first two episodes. Interestingly enough, in a recent interview the creator warned that some of the heroes would not survive the show’s first season. That some gutsy storytelling.
Jenny Robin writes: “Can you give me an approximate number of people who work in your production office on any given day?”
Answer: I’d say approximately 35-40.
Nathaniel writes: “Do you know if any of the big boys at MGM have gone to the big boys at NBC/U to see if they could get a special one shot of Atlantis on NBC one night after Heroes?”
Answer: It would be interesting – but highly unlikely.
Kas writes: “ Do you know if the movies will be region free DVD or at least released simultaneously to those countries who have already seen S10, eg UK – zone 2?”
Answer: Sorry, I have no idea.
Anonymous #3 writes: “Some spoilers that are circulating now have got me a little worried. Can you reassure us that The Ark of Truth won’t turn out to be a Mitchell-fest.”
Answer: I commented on this in the Chicago Tribune interview. Fans will come across spoilers that reveal an aspect of a given script and subsequently blow it out of proportion, expecting the worst. My advice is: wait an see.
Anonymous #4 writes: “You should also understand that some people have a little more information about what’s going on than others.”
Answer: Intriguing but, with all due respect, doubtful.
David McKee writes: “What does your Magic 8 Ball say about the prospects for Jacob Carter returning in “Continuum”?”
Magic 8 Ball says: Outlook not so good.
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